At least two dogs have become sick after eating a fatty, smelly substance that was found on a beach south of Napier over the weekend.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council cleared the unknown substance from Haumoana Beach, and sent samples away for analysis.
But the council said it would "take some time" to find the cause.
One commenter on its Facebook post said their dogs had become sick on Saturday after they ate the substance.
"My dogs both ate this substance today, they went straight for it and I couldn't get them to stop, they're both vomiting."
The council said it was continuing to monitor the beach.
It asked people not to swim, and to keep dogs off the beach.